I Said We Were In This Together, Right?
by thelocalmaniac
Summary: Lucio doesn't actually think the Apprentice will come for him. The Apprentice is absolutely going to break down the gates of the Devil's Realm and take back their dumb goatman. And Asra is resigned .


Nyx Hydra and the Arcana are not my own. This follows Lucio's Route Chapter IX – The Hermit: Paths of Fate, where the story has left off. It will follow the canon for Lucio's Route until there, where I am assuming it will become canon-divergent from whatever the writers have planned. I just needed the apprentice to go and rescue Lucio ASAP because I am stressed af.

* * *

"_...Elodie. Wake up. Please wake up."_

_The world suddenly vanishes around me. I fall through endless emptiness. _

_A hand clasps mine, pulling me from a pool of water... _

Elodie's eyes open to meet a pair of worried violet ones as they were pulled from the fountain. Asra hauled them to their feet, relief etched into their features as a soft, desperate sort of laugh escaped them. "Elodie. You're alright. I'm...I'm glad." The magician pulled their apprentice to them firmly, offering a squeeze. "I searched for you after we were separated. I came back to see if I could coax your spirit back to our world, instead."

While Asra explained, Elodie was trying to get their wits about them. Everything felt hazy, like a dream rather than a memory. They remembered the Star's Labyrinth, the Devil's chains surrounding Lucio, the sound of his scream as they encircled him, being left alone on scorched earth-

"Lucio. The Devil, he has him. I have to go back."

Yes. That's it. That's what's happened. Lucio is imprisoned and alone. Asra had dragged them back to their dimension, and Lucio is alone.

Asra's eyes, if possible, grew larger. Their hands twitched as they stepped back from the apprentice, an unreadable expression on their face. They had a complicated relationship with Lucio, this much the apprentice knew, but that was not important right now. "The Devil? But why would..." Shaking their head of fluffy white hair, Asra exhaled. Clearly, there was something they knew that Elodie did not. Was it about Lucio and the Devil's bonds? The 'debts' Lucio owed him? "It doesn't matter. You can't go after Lucio alone, and honestly, why would you want to?" Elodie opened their mouth, then shut it; they didn't want to see the light leave Asra's expression if they explained how their relationship with the ex-Count had grown during the magician's absence. Another time, another day. "Our time would be best spent trying to find out what the Devil has planned and telling the others what we have found out."

But that did not sit right with the apprentice. Leaving Lucio after all they had been through? After they had tried to find Asra for so long together? After the wyrm, the beetles, the Devil? After he had begged for their help? No, that did not sit right with them at all. Elodie drew themselves up to their full height (which, admittedly, was not very tall) and balled up their fists, steeling their resolve, jaw setting stiffly, lips forming a hard line across their angular features. "No. I'm not leaving him there." Everyone else left him. Wasn't that what Lucio had said? That nobody had ever come to find him in his wing after he had died? Elodie recalled the flaring of Lucio's nose in his goat form, the angry tremble of his voice, the hurt and anger when they had explained that the Palace staff had been too frightened to come down looking. That, or they did not care to. They couldn't do that to him again. As time had progressed, it became clear that Lucio was very capable of change, and perhaps, just maybe, Elodie could help be a part of that. They could not stay here and do nothing. "Asra, take me back. Or teach me how to go." It mattered. "I have to go, Asra."

"But-"

"If you do not, I will do it on my own, and I promise you that whatever happens then will be much worse." 'No' was not an option here. Elodie was going, and it was up to Asra whether he would be helping or Elodie would be getting hurt trying.

The magician grit their teeth, but it was clear that their apprentice was determined. Finally, they nodded and guided Elodie out of the fountain to dry off and begin.

* * *

After about a day of training the apprentice's magic on how to get in and out of the Arcana Realm on their own, Asra and Elodie decided that the safest course of action would be for the two of them to enter together so they may find the Devil's Realm fastest, then Asra would return to the living world to watch over their body. If anything went wrong, Asra would draw Elodie out again. "If this doesn't work though, we do things my way. Okay?"

Elodie had nodded, acting more confident than they felt.

And now...

Well, now they stood outside of the Devil's Gate. The center of the realm is almost a replica of the Vesuvian palace, only instead of white stone and golden spires, it looks like it's carved out of shiny obsidian. Asra turned to them. "Do you even have a plan?"

"I...broke one of the Devil's chains, before."

"Do you think you could do it again?"

"Maybe?"

Asra sighed. "Well. Alright. I'll go keep an eye on your body. Please, leave if anything goes wrong. Don't do anything more dangerous than what you are doing already." They reached out and took Elodie's hand, squeezing it. "But, for what it's worth, you are stronger than you think. You can do this. If anyone can, it's you."

For the first time since being dragged out of the Arcana Realm, Elodie smiled, though fleetingly. They nodded; Asra inclined their head and then exited the realm, form disappearing as if it had never been. Elodie turned to look at the gate, dread pooling in the pit of their stomach. But there was no better option than this. Where else would the Devil keep Lucio than in his realm?_ If...no,_ when_ I get Lucio out of there, we are going back to the living realm and not coming back here until we have all the answers we need. This was far too dangerous._ Comforted by the nerve of their thoughts alone, Elodie straightened their spine and, knowing that they would run if they hesitated any longer, pushed the doors to the gate open with inhuman force amplified by their magic.

They let their emotions course through them, feeling the tingle of magic strengthening as it focused itself, energy practically pulsating from their small, hunger-pang frame as they strode into the hall. Even though there is no sun, the realm is bathed in crimson light. The throne room is filled with high sweeping arches of obsidian, and at the center of it all looms a black throne on a raised dais. As Elodie enters, the Devil seemed to manifest as if conjured by their thoughts alone, and he turned to face them, his eyebrows lifted in an elegant arc as he appraises them. "It is polite to knock, child."

Elodie did not bother too much with his words, not wanting to lose concentration. "Where is he?"

"I don't suppose you could be more specific?"

Magic gathered at their fingertips like a slash of lightning, unbidden, rage curling across their ribs and into their chest; it burst from them with a thunderous crack, and the throne was sliced in half, falling to pieces as the apprentice approached, pace quickening. "Lucio. Bring him to me."

The Devil chuckled. "I hardly think you are the one who should be giving orders, runt. But I will play your game. He is in the room already." His red eyes, rimmed with a black sclera, narrowed, and he turned his head to look just over Elodie's shoulder to the left.

Like so much of the Arcana Realm, each realm changes only as illusions made by the Arcana themselves; as Lucio, bound and whimpering in chains that look like they are piping hot to the touch, materializes behind them, Elodie is suddenly certain that he had been present the entire time, that the Devil had only hidden him out of boredom. Elodie's breath was punched out of them in a whoosh as they watched Lucio, who seemed to suddenly realize he was physically in the throne room, looking around wildly before settling his gaze on them. For a beat, he seemed speechless. Then, loudly:

"Elodie! You came-" The Devil snapped his fingers and another chain moved to slap itself across Lucio's mouth, silencing him. Elodie visibly flinched, a crack in their demeanor, before turning back to the Devil.

"Release him and let him come back with me." They demanded, voice tremulous, and cursed themselves. It was a lot harder to be taken seriously if your voice was shaking. Elodie gave the Devil a wary look before hurrying over to Lucio, falling to their knees at his side. They touched the chains and hissed as it burned them. The scent of Lucio's burning flesh made them want to puke, but they tried to ignore it.

The Devil took a single, intimidating step forward, and Elodie shuddered. "And what will you give me in return?" he purred.

Elodie's throat closed. A deal? They had not expected that. "_Anything_," they whispered. Lucio's eyes, bloodshot and groggy from the pain, seemed to concentrate on this exchange like his life depended on it, and he tried to shake his head. The chains tightened around him and the Count gasped.

This was not what the Devil had expected, for he laughed loudly this time, throwing his head back. The goat made a wide circle around them, smirking, and Elodie followed his trajectory with their careful gaze. "I hope you're happy, Lucio! Isn't this what you wanted?" the Devil taunted. "Right, Lucio? Remember? Now you might actually be able to call yourself 'beloved' more honestly. Maybe they will even give you their body, next." This made the Devil laugh again, and he wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. Then, to Elodie, "You could always take his place, I suppose."

Oh, hell no.

The apprentice looked at the red, angry welts on their palms from Lucio's chains. "..What are these even chains made of?" they muttered to themselves, nose scrunching up.

The Devil shrugged in turn, answering the question that they had probably not meant for him to hear. "There are only two ways chains can be made. Either through a pact—like the one Lucio made with me all those years ago or the one you are about to make. Or by bringing pre-existing bonds into my realm—powerful ones-and corrupting them. They cannot be broken."

Elodie blinked. Lucio watched them, something close to amazement on his features, though they could also feel the fear he held. He was waiting for them to leave. It was not a worthwhile deal, after all. More people would miss them than would miss him. It would make far more sense for the apprentice to say 'no deal' and leave him here to fester. The Count was startled from his thoughts and seemed surprised when a blinding grin tore across the magician's face.

The apprentice glanced over their shoulder at the Devil. "Now, that's not true. I broke them once today already." They hummed to themselves, turning away from the annoyed look that had overtaken the Devil's features, looking at Lucio, then the chains. Solid, burning, restrained. Corrupting powerful bonds, hm? Well, if I know anything about magic, then these bonds should be able to be un-corrupted, too. With this, Elodie reached out, grasping the chains in their hands, and winced at the spike of heat, sharp and hot and excruciating, that flashed through their body, but they did not let go this time. Instead, they poured as much magic as they had down the chains, closed their eyes, and focused. Focused on Lucio, on the sharp, cruel edges of his smile, the careful decisiveness in every word and expression so nobody could see through him, his boisterous cackle, his pride at being at the center of their attention—then they thought about how much they wanted to see that smile soften into something more, how much they wanted to see him take down some of those walls, and held onto that wish. The chains faltered, then chipped away into gold, heat becoming warmth-

-and they loosened and fell away.

Lucio leaned over, hugging his body tightly as he caught his breath, trying to pull himself together. Elodie stood, swinging the golden chain in their hands purposefully, and turned to face the Devil. He had carefully schooled his expression. But this use of magic was already a strain, and Elodie had a horrible feeling that they wouldn't be able to finish the Devil off today—and that trying to do so would be a death wish. "I'm turning down your bargain, I've decided. I don't think we need your help." With this, they threw the chain at the Devil, who moved out of the way hastily in the least dignified motion they had ever seen from the fifteenth Arcana. In that instance, Elodie grabbed one of Lucio's arms in their hands, pretended they didn't see the agonized grimace on his face, and reached out to Asra, trying to pull themselves out of the Arcana Realm in the same breath.

Just as the Devil got his act together and made to lunge toward them, claws grasping, Asra felt the apprentice reaching their magic out across universes and gave a resounding tug on their bond.

* * *

Lucio and Elodie fell through darkness, the apprentice holding onto their forearm for dear life so he could not fall away from them as Asra had, straining to keep him close, before they fell into the real world.

Elodie's body felt heavy after having been so long without it. They groaned and their knees buckled; thankfully, Asra reached out to catch them.

Though still feeling phantasmal waves of pain, Count Lucio was gone from his corporeal form, now in his ghost body that had not been injured in three years. He stood from the fountain waters, spluttering, and moved to sit on the edge, looking...out of it. Asra barely even looked at him, setting Elodie up on the edge of the fountain instead, saying something about "Getting help and food" or something like that before racing off through the palace gardens, Faust circled around his shoulders.

Breathing ragged, Elodie glanced over at Lucio, who seemed bad still. They shifted closer to the Count, reaching out and taking his hand. Lucio flinched, then blinked, looking over at them. Finally, it seemed to sink in that this had all happened, that this goofy little magician who was more bones than anything else had decided to go into the Devil's Realm alone after him and had done exactly that. Lucio looked at them with something close to awe, relaxing as his body realized that he was safe, at least for now. There were words here, somewhere, things they did not have the language to explain or lay on the table yet, with feelings they could not convey in any way other than gratitude, but they would get there. Being a little more emotionally mature than the Count, Elodie filled the silence with, "I said we were in this together, right? In the labyrinth? It matters to me what happens to you." Then they knocked their shoulder lightly into his, and the gravity of the things they could not say dissipated for now.

Lucio snickered. "That's a lot, coming from such a cute, hotshot wizard-magician."

"I'm _definitely_ not a wizard. But thanks, I think?" Then Elodie reached out and tugged his head down to press a kiss to his forehead, all tenderness and affection because while they both did not really know how to explain this relationship they had, they wanted to make sure that he knew that there was _something_ there. "Try not to get kidnapped again anytime soon."

"You act like I planned this," Lucio muttered, somehow irritated already, but mellowed when the apprentice moved toward him. The kiss on the forehead was welcome, but not enough—when Elodie pulled away, he followed them with hungry lips, kissing them feverishly, tangling his long fingers into their short copper tresses. Then he moved to kiss the smattering of freckles on their face, saying 'thank you' in the way he was the most comfortable. Pretty soon Elodie was laughing, hands on his face to push him away, and he used this action to place kisses on their fingers and palms and wrists instead, grinning. It was warm and soft, and easy—they didn't need to talk about how Elodie had followed him to the Devil's Realm by themself was crazy, that the fact that Elodie had felt perfectly justified in doing so was a loyalty the Count was unfamiliar with, that Lucio had not really believed that Elodie would come after him after they had been separated. They certainly didn't gain anything from that arrangement, not after the Devil had left them alone, taking only Lucio. He could not fathom why Elodie had come after him. Not even the well-practiced lie that "everyone loved him" would have explained such blatant devotion and stupidity.

Finally, both their hands and arms stilled, smiling idiotically at the other, breathless laughs dying down. Hands still in prime face-touching position, Elodie tugged his head down to rest on their shoulder. Still hungry for every ounce of human contact he could garner, the phantom nuzzled into their neck, resting his body against them like they had in the maze. They stayed like that until Asra got back, and not even then Lucio move, feeling boneless and comfortable. He turned his face further away from the magician, letting the apprentice respond to whatever that asshole was saying. He trusted they would make dignified enough decisions for him—another fact that he did not want to tackle today. Not yet. But it was worth mentioning that he had never trusted anybody else to make choices for him like that before. Asra passed a small dumpling to the apprentice, who ate it as if famished. They offered some to Lucio, but he made a noncommittal sound, still tucked into the apprentice. He didn't want to move.

"I feel him with you, but is he..._with_ you?" Asra asked the apprentice, rolling up their sleeves a little. They could feel Lucio's putrid presence again, but they still could not see him.

"Yeah," the apprentice replied loftily. They slid an arm around Lucio's shoulders and moved to pet his hair absentmindedly as they finished off their meal, energy filling their body with each bite. Lucio purred like a cat, pushing up into their hand, and moved in closer, arranging his lanky limbs so he had his legs around their waist, hooked at the ankles. He didn't mind clinging to them; in this situation, any positive contact was more than welcome, and he doubted that Elodie would deny him. "He's stickin' around." Asra didn't seem thrilled, but he left it at that.

Nadia and Portia had both been relieved when they had heard of Elodie's safe return from Asra, and Portia had promised to come by the fountain with help to get Elodie to their room as soon as she could. When Portia arrived with a horse in tow, the apprentice was nearly asleep against the Count. They helped Elodie onto the thoroughbred with little effort. Lucio refused to be parted from them the entire time.

Elodie was escorted to their room with the promise that they would speak to Asra and Nadia about their time in the Arcana Realm when they woke. They agreed before shutting the door. Soon they had collapsed in their bed, not even bothering to take their shoes off, and Lucio moved to join them without asking. The apprentice huffed, rolling their eyes, but made room for the ghost regardless, lifting the blanket so he could climb under. Lucio was immediately pressed flush to their side, arms and legs encircling Elodie, face buried into their neck. "Octopus-style," Elodie mumbled response to his position, and he burst out laughing. His hot breath tickled, and Elodie laughed, squirming, before turning to kiss him soundly on the mouth. His body loosened and stilled, responding to them in turn. He did not try to escalate anything or take control, perfectly content for this sort of soft interaction. It was everything the Devil's Realm was not, and for now, that was everything he wanted. As if sensing this, Elodie peppered his face with kisses before embracing him as well, smoothing their fingers across his head and shoulders and back.

It was nice...being cared for. He watched as they pulled the quilt up to their chins, shifting so Lucio's arm wouldn't fall asleep after them in the night, and felt a blossom of warmth in his chest. Then they held the Count against their chest; he went with them without complaint. He listened to their heartbeat, letting it lull him to sleep. "..I'll protect you next time, darling Elodie. You'll see. I bet I'll make you swoon."

"Sounds good to me."

Satisfied, he pressed himself into the crook of their neck again. Then, quietly, almost as if he was trying to keep them from hearing, "I'm...glad you came after me."

That was a better thanks than usual. Elodie smiled, lips tugging upward against his hair; even if that hadn't been the case, he could hear the smile in their voice when they spoke. "I'm glad I did, too. I like having you here to snuggle." Lucio grinned against their clavicle. Finally, he let himself sleep—fuck, he couldn't remember the last time he had needed to sleep. He probably _didn't_ need to, being a specter, but he wanted to. Even if only so he could share the bed with his tenacious little magician's apprentice.

And Elodie didn't need those explanations, anyway. They never seemed to have an issue reading into his actions. Every word, breath, kiss, and movement said _thank you thank you thank you thank you_, and it warmed them to their core. For now—for tonight—everything would be fine. They would face the Devil and the future tomorrow. For now, this was enough.


End file.
